Drachengarten Ludwigshafen
The Drachengarten Ludwigshafen is a zoological garden that specialises in dragons, located in the city of Stadt Sankt Ludwigshafen in Sankt Ludwigshafen. The zoo and the four dragons that live in it were given to Sankt Ludwigshafen by the Imperial Federation as a symbol of gratitude following the donation of Nordhafen by Sankt Ludwigshafen to the Imperial Federation. The zoo is open to visitors year-round and all citizens of the republic, as well as tourists from Raspur Pact nations are offered one free ticket to the zoo per annum. The dragon garden is one of the touristic highlights of the city. Dragon enthusiasts on Micras flock to the zoo as it was the first, and still the only zoo, that has two magenta coloured dragons, which are not seen in the wild either. Besides dragons, the zoological gardens display a variety of reptiles and amphibians that originate from all over Micras.
Background
The idea for the Drachengarten Ludwigshafen (the so-called Dragon Zoo) was the result of a donation of territory in northern Cibola called Nordhafen to the Imperial Federation as a gesture of friendship, in the time following Sankt Ludwigshafen's accession to the Raspur Pact. Although Lanzerwalders living on either Bomei Island or Nordhafen found that they suddenly had paths to citizenship (with visa controls almost disappearing for those on the mainland seeking entry into Imperial territory), this was hardly a step up from visa schemes already offered by virtue of membership within the Raspur Pact. As such, the Imperial government in Gondolin and Glacier City strove to find a proper way to show their gratitude towards their neighbors for such a handsome gift.
After some discussions over what the people of this nation might appreciate the most, the idea of donating live dragons was floated. After some discussions on the varieties of these creatures (as well as their incredibly violent dispositions), the prospect of genetic engineering and cloning magenta cross-breeds was well-received. Despite the challenges, the Empire's most eminent researchers discovered an ample amount of superb genetic materials from the Hexarchy's semi-domesticated breeds, as well as from Imperial stock of captured or slain dragons.
Although dragons were never before exported out of Imperial territory on the northern Cibolan territory of Drag'os, an exception was demanded by the Emperor Anarion, and immediately pushed through the Imperial Senate. The research and cloning process then took an astonishing eight months from start to finish, a notable feat even among the brilliant minds of Glacier City's best scholars. By the middle of 1722 AN, the fresh batch of eggs were ready for transport.
Construction
Construction of the facility proceeded apace... but the initial budget blew up by an order of magnitude. To begin with, a zoo of this nature was definitely a new one for Imperial engineers, but they still help out with gusto. Keeping lizards so far south in Micras may be difficult during winter, but Imperial engineers instead saw this as an exciting challenge. Adding to their delight was the Emperor's sudden, very personal interest in the project. The originally limited budget would have seen the project tank due to the added challenges of engineering a suitably sized dragon enclosure so far from home for oversized, flying, potentially violent lizards. The seemingly unlimited budget approved under the Emperor's personal auspices rendered those challenges moot.
However, the notably eccentric Emperor's personal interest had its very clear downsides. Notably, the architects and engineers rapidly saw their delight over funding turn into frustration as the resulting zoo quickly ballooned into a project that was clearly way too extravagant for a city the size of Sankt Ludwigshafen. Although the Emperor was donating huge sums of cash from his very deep pockets directly to cover every last copper of costs, his meddling in its already-overblown floor plans progressively stepped up. Although the engineers were able to rise to the considerable challenge before them, the new project became something of a running joke in the Court because of the zoo's sheer size in relation to its target audience.
Expansions were also prematurely planned, with the Emperor also toying with the idea of adding more dangerous creatures there in the future. While it was a feat of Ralgonese engineering to have enough of the zoo completed for the dragons to arrive, there was instead worry among Imperial officials that the new Dragon Zoo would instead become something of an eyesore for the very people they wanted to bring happiness to with this endeavor, as ridiculous as its outcome was threatening to morph into. Thankfully, the most ambitious of these plans were checked, with much of the cash instead going into beautification and investment of the city itself, instead of this project.
